Chief Justice Roberts: Technology among top issues for court

By Mike Tolson |
October 17, 2012
| Updated: October 17, 2012 11:22pm

United States Chief Justice John Roberts led an informal talk at Rice University on Wednesday. (Photo by Cody Duty/Chronicle)

Photo By Cody Duty

Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. took questions Wednesday from the Tudor Fieldhouse audience as well as from Rice President David Leebron, left.

Photo By Cody Duty/Houston Chronicle

Roberts is the nation's 17th chief justice.

Reconciling ever-changing science and technology with established Constitutional principles - set down by statutes and rulings long before the modern world was even imagined - will be an ongoing challenge for federal courts, especially his own, U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts said Wednesday during a Rice University discussion.

"Is being able to see through walls a violation of search and seizure protections? I think it will be a good opportunity to see how prescient the framers were if the Constitution will be able to deal with these questions," Roberts told an audience of several thousand. "What is the fundamental protection offered by the Constitution when applied to new technology and situations? It's a question that comes along all the time."

Roberts did not speak formally to the receptive crowd, instead sitting with longtime friend and Rice University President David Leebron for an informal hourlong chat. Roberts' visit was part of the school's centennial celebration.

Though the Tudor Fieldhouse audience doubtless wished otherwise, Roberts said from the outset that he couldn't discuss any cases before the Supreme Court - past, present or future. Which of course meant he also couldn't discuss the political and social issues that lay behind them.

However, when asked about some of the most difficult challenges the high court will face in coming years, Roberts turned to the thorny matter of technology. In earlier days, an advance such as wiretapping posed an obvious invasion of privacy under normal circumstances. The evolution of technology, from biological to electronic, presents much more nuanced issues, he pointed out.

Answering selected questions from the floor as well as some offered by Leebron, Roberts touched on a variety of issues.

On the influence of politics on the court, Roberts said there is none. He said the justices are comfortable making unpopular decisions and engage in constitutional discussions without the polarization seen in other branches. He also said the philosophical differences between members are overblown in the media.

"It's easier for reporters to say that this justice is liberal, that one conservative," Roberts said. "I don't think that's a very useful way to look at it," Roberts said. "That is imported from the political side. Most of our cases are unanimous."

On the most pleasant surprises he experienced after joining the court, Roberts cited two: the depth of intellectual discussions in the conference room, which involve only the nine justices and never feature voices raised in anger; and how well the justices get along.

"We are extremely close," Roberts said. "I was surprised by the extent to which the justices have a collegial relationship."

Confirmation process

Roberts also offered an opinion on the confirmation process of nominees to the Supreme Court:

"It's not a very edifying process. The formula is very well established: A senator asks questions about hot topics. The nominee says he can't answer. The senator scowls and asks again. The nominee says he cannot answer. And then the senator's time is up," Roberts said.

"Though it may be presumptuous of me to say, I think it would be more useful that they should ask a question that the nominee should be able to answer," he said. "A nominee ought to be able to give a fairly nuanced but deep answer about the role of the court and the separation of powers. I think it could be made a more useful process, but I don't hold out much hope."